17 May , 2021 By : Kanchan Joshi
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel reported swung to a quarterly profit on Monday as it added more subscribers and saw increased data usage, helped by pandemic-led remote working trends.
The telecom reported a net profit of Rs759 crore for the March quarter on Monday as compared to net loss of Rs5,237 crore in the same quarter last year. The consolidated revenue came at Rs25,747 crore, nearly 12% higher, as against Rs23,019 crore year-on-year (YoY).
The telco's average revenue per user (ARPU) in India plunged nearly 13% in the quarter to Rs145 per user from a three-year high of Rs166 in the previous quarter. That came as the interconnect usage charge, the amount paid by a telco to another when its users make voice calls to subscribers of the other network, went to zero on January 1.
Airtel added 14.1 million subscribers in India during the first three months of 2021, growing its base to more than 350 million.
Rival firm Reliance Jio, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani added 15.4 million net subscribers in the quarter, expanding its customer base to 426.2 million as of March 31.
Bharti Airtel's EBITDA margin improved to 48.9% in its fourth quarter from 42.4% a year earlier.
Ahead of its Q4 results, shares of Bharti Airtel closed nearly 2% lower at Rs549 apiece on the BSE.
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